Does Mips Linux rely on Yamon h/w initialization (other than DDR memory which is strictly necessary)?

Hi,
Malta board has Yamon monitor which initializes the DDR memory and other
h/w. Does Mips Linux rely on Yamon h/w initialization (except memory)
like PCI, NET, UART, etc in order to boot? Does Mips Linux re-initialize
the h/w again?
I am booting Linux on Malta with a small monitor which initializes only
the memory. I pass the environment vars array, command line arguments
and memory size as Yamon would do. The ASCII display shows "Linux on
Malta" scrolling text so Linux kernel it seems that at least it started
but there is no NET activity and no messages on UART.
Thanks,
Andrei